I spent St. Patrick’s Day in the best way possible. In Dublin, Ireland. From the 14th to the 17th, Dublin turns it’s city to the spectacular St. Patrick’s Day celebration. I arrived in Dublin on the 15th after a 3 hour delay leaving Los Angeles. From the 15th, we kicked the celebration in style. Here was my itinerary:
Sunday, March 15th:
We arrived in Dublin around 9AM and headed to our AirBNB apartment. Emily, our host greeted us at the apartment and told us a little bit about the city and some fun activities to do while we were here.
After checking in, we went to a cute cafe called Slice which evidently became my favorite place to eat on this trip. I had the full Irish breakfast which wasn’t my typical Irish meal. It was a soup based meal with chorizo, pouched eggs, butternut squash, green peppers, chickpeas, with a side of bread. Yum!
After a short nap, we roamed around The Temple Bar area. The city was filled with live music in the bars and on the streets. We threw back a few pints of Guinness before calling an early night.
Monday, March 16:
We spent a good chunk of time exploring Phoenix Park, the largest park in all of European cities. The park is a must! You have the US Embassy, Ireland’s President’s house, Ashtown castle, and my favorite part, free roaming deer. You can also explore the park by hiring a bike for only 5 euros for a few hours.
After the park, we walked towards St. Stephens Green Street for a free outdoor Irish Dancing festival. On stage were dancers, a live band, and a host interacting with the crowd. Prizes were given out to the crowd for showcasing their moves onstage. We learned how to Irish dance and went wacky with the crowd. After the show was over, a french opera group, Les Poupées Géantes surprised us with a performance. The opera singers were on dress-like platforms… (I know that doesn’t make sense so check out the photos above!) They even moved through the crowd. It was neat-o!
As much as I wanted to party hard into the night, my best friend got food poisoned right when we arrived at the dance. We went to Queen of Tarts, a very popular restaurant located in the city center. Everything was practically sold out at the restaurant leaving us with a few options. My friend ordered the Gruyère cheese and thyme tart. It was probably sitting out for a while which stir a bad reaction in my friends tummy. Instead of bar hopping, my friend and I returned home to watch some Comedy Central, drinking cider (me), and force eating Chinese food (the only thing open).
Tuesday, March 17:
Drinking with the roomies
My friend was still recovering from food poisoning so I skipped into town to watch the hour and a half parade alone….well I wasn’t technically alone, 25,000 people were there. The St. Patrick’s festival theme this year was: Celebrate Now. There were some psychedelic floats that reminded me of Ghostbusters, Alice in Wonderland, and Back to the Future. There were also several marching bands. Believe it or not, majority of the bands were from the States.
I met up with my friend near our apt for a quick bite before heading down to the city center.
The city center was madness!!! After the parade ended, it appeared that the entire town escaped to the bars. In the mist of all the madness, we ran into our AirBNB roommates. We joined them and 2 of their friends in their bar hopping bananza.
Our first stop: The Market Bar. We all ordered a round of drinks than some food to absorb our drinks. I had the pulled pork and cheese empanadas. They were yummy!!!
After lunch, we parted ways from their friends (they had a flight) and went to several bars which I lost track of their names. After drinking, we decided to do some shopping at Grafton Street.
I got a St. Patrick’s Day shirt to remember my trip. My best friend decided that she wanted a shirt that she saw at The Temple Bar store. We tried so hard to avoid that area and here we are squeezing out bodies through a crowd of intoxicated 15-year-old adolescents wearing close to nothing. Thankfully, we made it out alive. She made the purchase and we dashed away from the crowd.
Wednesday, March 18:
After a great St. Patrick’s Day celebration, my best friend and I decided to part ways to enjoy a little bit of the Ireland. My best friend went to the countryside while I spent the day exploring the fisherman island, Howth. I will talk more about my experience on Howth on a separate blog. Please keep your eyes pealed for it.
If you plan on visiting Dublin during St. Patrick’s Day, be prepared for crowds, drunkies, and a lot of partying! There are a lot of things to see and do so make sure you do a little planning.
Where did you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
The Part Time Traveler 